By: Arthur Cooper
Submitted: 2011-03-03 17:19:16 | Word Count: 664
Facebook just got way cool for some while getting even more annoying for others with their most recent update. Facebook has officially done away with the Share button and now the Like button has officially taken over. Many of you Facebook users may have noticed the little changes that have been happening to the Like button for quite some time now. Just recently, the like button was added to comments made about status updates allowing for readers of the comments to Like the comments of others. Not that you were wondering, but I, for one, thought that the Like button added to comments served no purpose and could’ve easily been done without. Then again, I carry that same sentiment about most of Facebook’s updates.
Facebook has now merged sharing abilities into the Like button. Now, when a user hits Like on a third-party site a full story with a headline, thumbnail photograph and blurb will be posted to the user’s profile wall. This new capability will also allow users the capability to comment of story links. “The Like button lets a user share your content with friends on Facebook. When the user clicks the Like button on your site, a story appears in the user’s friends’ News Feed with a link back to your Web site,” wrote Facebook on its developer documentation site. I’m thinking this will drive frivolous Like’s down tremendously.
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This seems like great news for businesses and publishers. If I’m running a small business and you happen to Like my page, the publicity from having my Like posted on your profile with such thorough additional information would be quite awesome. This new phase of the Like button will certainly make Facebook an even more necessary tool for exposure, promotions and marketing. However, for the average user, the prominent display of every Like in the news feed and on profile pages seems significantly less than appealing. I’m guessing that Facebook’s user-friendly policy has a more corporate connotation these days.
Recently, Facebook has stopped developing the Share button given the updates applied to the Like button. Malorie Lucich, Facebook spokeswomen, reported that the company will continue to support the Share button, but Like will be the recommended solution moving forward. “Support” the Share button? I can’t say that I quite know what that means. Does that mean Share is on some type of probation and its job will be taken if Like can show and prove? Seems to me that the decision’s been made and Share is out of the door. Lucich did, however, later go on to call the change a test stating “We’re always testing new products that incorporate developer feedback as we work to improve the Platform experience, and have no details to share at this time.”
Facebook should be aware that users are much more likely to Like than to Share as Likes tend to go unnoticed. It will be interesting to see if this new Like venture proves to be counterproductive. It’s forcing users to make a choice, really. Do I Like you enough to Share you?
